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{
    "id": 699204,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/699204/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 137,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Katoo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 199,
        "legal_name": "Judah Katoo Ole-Metito",
        "slug": "judah-ole-metito"
    },
    "content": "By way of introduction, competiton law in Kenya originated with the Price Control Ordinance of 1956 renamed the Price Control Act of 1956 and revised in 1972. The underlying philosophy of the Kenyan competition law initially had been to protect consumers against price increases. Subsequently, the Restrictive Trade Practices, Monopolies and Price Control Act, which came into effect in 1989 was enacted to comprehesively deal with matters relating to competiton law. It provided for the regulation of mergers, control of unwarranted concentration of economic power and prohibition of restrictive trade practices. The Restrictive Trade Practices, Monopolies and Price Control Act was intended to be a transitional piece of legislation to enable Kenya move from a price control regime to a market regime. It also created the monopolies and price department, which was mandated to encourage competition in the economy. However, the same Restrictive Trade Practices, Monopolies and Price Control Act was not effective. Some of the notable weaknesses included the fact that it maintained price control provisions, its enforcement procedures were complex and its remedial measures were ineffective. The Government, having recognised the important link that competition had to economic development, made the decision to introduce further legal reforms that were contained in the Competition Act, 2010. The objectives of the Competition Act 2010 were to promote and safeguard competition in the national economy, protect consumers from unfair and misleading market conduct, and provide for the establishment of the Competition Authority and the Competition Tribunal. The emphasis of the current competition law is on reduction of entry barriers and restrictive business practices irrespective of which group of undertaking it affects. The Competition (Amendment) Bill was read for the First Time in this House on 19th July, 2016. It proposes to align the principal Act with Article 176 of the Constitution, which recognises county governments and the principle of decentralisation of services. The current Competition Act talks about local authorities. That Act was established in 2010. This amendment tries to align that law with the Constitution in accordance with Article 176 of the Constitution because the local authorities have since been changed to county governments. The second objective of the Bill is to impose obligation on stakeholders to provide information where the Competition Authority conducts an inquiry either on their motion or under the direction of a Cabinet Secretary. The new amendment, especially on Clause 6 of the Bill, will make it mandatory for stakeholders to provide information to the Competition Authority whenever they conduct an inquiry. The third objective of the Amendment Bill is to allow for exclusion of mergers which will have minimal impact on competition from the provisions of the principal Act. The principal Act is a bit rigorous in terms of mergers because some mergers might have very minimal economic impact. The fourth objective is to empower the Competition Authority to initiate investigation on its own motion for expeditious resolution of consumer complaints. Hon. Speaker, I now seek to highlight the proposed amendments contained in the Bill. Clause 2 of the Bill seeks to delete the definition of the term “local authority” and replace it with the term “county government”. The definition of the term “undertaking” is also proposed to be deleted and substituted with a new definition, which is wider as it includes a more comprehensive list of groups of businesses and trade associations as undertakings. Under Clause The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}